ed Anachronistic leadership

President’s stubbornness throws public into despair

Presidential scandals often become bigger than they should because of the way they are mishandled by chief executives. This was clearly illustrated at a meeting between President Park Geun-hye and members of the Saenuri Party held at Cheong Wa Dae, Sunday.

The meeting was ostensibly intended to convey Park’s appreciation to the party for the earlier-than-expected passage of her 2015 budget plan but was actually designed to consolidate factions within the governing camp in the face of what the president regards as political offensives from hostile forces, namely the opposition and media outlets.

During the luncheon, President Park again brushed aside as “worthless rumors” the so-called memogate ― caused by the leakage of memoranda that describe how a former confidant of Park and some of her current secretaries have colluded to “monopolize” personnel management and other state affairs. “It’s a shame that the whole country is being swayed by gossip more befitting of that passed around stock brokerages,”she said.

So Park revealed her perceptions about the scandal have not changed at all. “No such malicious schemes can unsettle me,” said the president. “The opposition party should wait for the prosecution’s investigation.”

The problem is, the stronger the presidential denials of the allegations, the more doubtful the public will become about the investigation results by the politicized prosecutors. Not least because part of the descriptions in the memo seems to have already been proved true, such as Park’s own instructions to replace a few senior officials at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports reportedly at the request of her former chief secretary, as exposed by a former minister during a media interview. How should Koreans accept this reality in which their president is playing Truth or Dare with her former appointee?

President Park also vowed to never yield, and the ruling party officials cheered her up with applause, saying the President and the governing party were “one flesh.” Rep. Lee Wan-ku, the floor leader of Saenuri Party, even referred to Park as “Your Excellency” ― a title that disappeared more than two decades ago because it recalled the nation’s years of dictatorship ― no fewer than three times. Saenuri Party officials must know that they are not just part of a governing party but are part of the legislature that should contribute to holding the administration in check.

That none of the participants from the party made critical comments on the scandal demonstrates Korea’s backward democracy, which is close to the imperial presidencies in the U.S., minus the Congress.

According to opinion polls last week, up to 70 percent of Koreans think that the ongoing scandal is a serious incident that further deters the already sluggish progress of democracy with 63 percent believing that the memo ― or at least part of it ― is true. More than 50 percent think that an independent counsel or parliamentary probe is necessary in order to establish the truth.

The President and her party should realize that their one-sided denials and perfunctory probes conducted by the prosecution will persuade few Koreans. If Park reshuffles her aides and presidential office now, people may understand ― if not forgive ― their leader. If not, the President will prematurely become a lame duck throughout the remainder of her tenure.

That will be a great tragedy ― and misfortune ― less so for the leader than for the nation as a whole.